Competitive Horseshoes Has Some Tough Competitors

Being a pro athlete takes a ridiculous amount of hard work and dedication. You have to watch your diet to the most detailed calorie. You have to do an ungodly amount of strength and endurance training. You put your career, future and life on the line every time you take the playing field. Believe it or not, the same can be said for pro-horseshoes throwers.

Sure, the game might not be as physically grueling as Olympic swimming or tandem bear-wrestling, but its players are dedicated enough to sacrifice most of their lives to winning it, according to this profile at SBNation.com.

The profile focused on Brian Simmons who traveled to Knoxville, Tenn. to compete in the World Horseshoe Tournament. He wasn't sponsored by someone to compete, he paid his own way at great expense.

He also doesn't make a lot of money from competing. The top winner at this tournament only gets $3,500 for their effort. Simmons paid around $3,000 in expenses just to get there. He's also got a very bad knee that doctors claim could shatter at any moment, and while horseshoes may not be the most athletic activity, it could take a toll on his injuries.

So why does he do it? Obviously, he's good at it and has passion for the sport, but he also sticks with it to memorialize the man who taught him how to become one of the greatest: his father, Clinton.

"When he died, I set a goal for myself. I wanted to prove to everybody what he taught me through the years."